The Evernden Eight - the 8 key factors for architecting information							Introduction
Categories	Understanding	Presentation	Evolution	Knowledge	Responsibility	Process	Meta Levels

Factor 6 - Responsibility is about making sure that someone takes responsibility for the key actions on information, such as creating it, distributing it, or developing it. Resources are always more valuable when someone takes on the appropriate responsibilities for looking after them!

This factor includes such questions as:

• Who owns or controls the information?
• Who is responsible for funding changes to the information?
• Who is responsible for the accuracy or quality of the information?

The allocation of, and ownership of, the address is probably the responsibility of the local council, while the postcode is probably "owned" by the central post office. But there should be a responsibility for stewardship of this information within the organisation that includes the duty for updating the information and keeping it accurate. There is rarely anyone in an organisation responsible for keeping address information up-to-date.

I was pleasantly surprised by a local theatre company that calls everyone on its mailing list once a year just to check that their mail-out information, which includes a lot more than just address details, is correct. Guess what - not only do more of their mail shots reach the right target, they also gather a lot more information about the type of shows that their audiences would like to see because there is something in it for everyone in creating a more detailed customer profile.